FARMERS have called for an assurance from the Welsh Assembly Government that it will never again fail to pay them on time.

FARMERS have called for an assurance from the Welsh Assembly Government that it will never again fail to pay them on time.

AMs meet next week to debate a report from the Auditor General for Wales Sir John Bourn on the payments fiasco that delayed the hand over of almost &#xA3;50m, or 25% of European farm support last year beyond the specified time limit.

And Sir John's report said no payments at all were made for four months on the Assembly's own support schemes. It meant farmers were kept waiting for money on another 1,000 claims, a quarter of all those received in the year.

"We expect WAG to take full note of the findings and act, where appropriate, to ensure this never happens again," said FUW director of agricultural policy Arwyn Owen.

And CLA Wales director Julian Salmon called for a guarantee the fiasco would not be repeated when the complex single farm payment comes into effect under the Common Agricultural Policy reforms in 2005.

Sir John's report said &#xA3;119.4m, or 75% of the total CAP money due had been paid within the time limit or payment window, but almost &#xA3;50m was not.

He said livestock farmers relied on regular support payments and many farm businesses in Wales faced financial losses without them.

The delays on payments due from October 2002 came at a critical time for farmers struggling to make ends meet.

Sir John said they were caused by wide-ranging problems with a new IT system designed to authorise payments, including difficulties with the scanning technology. Management staff also underestimated the time needed to test claims.

There were also external factors such as foot-and-mouth disease and complex new EU legislation.

But Sir John said the new computer system should improve the service to farmers. This has been seen in the promising start to the new payment year last month when some &#xA3;74m - about half of all the estimated CAP payments due in the year - were paid during the first two days.

Sir John Bourn said, "These grant and subsidy payments are critical to the businesses of farmers in Wales.

"However, in this instance, the Assembly did not provide the overall standard of service that farmers have a right to expect.

"I hope that the successful start made to the new round of payments will help the Assembly to improve the relationship with its clients in the farming community."

NFU Cymru president Peredur Hughes said the report held no surprises, but the effect of late payments was even worse than suggested.

"Farmers rely on the payments being made at the same time each year in order to manage the cash flow of their businesses," he said.

"While the majority of payments were made within the window, they were still paid much later than was expected which caused farmers big problems. Their bills still had to be paid at the same time and their cashflow projections were ruined."

Mr Hughes added that although the Assembly had promised to pay interest on payments made outside the window, the interest rate offered was a paltry 1% over base, while farmers were paying up to 3% interest on what they had to borrow because payments came late.

In addition, communications were inconsistent and promises made and then broken, while farmers got increasingly frustrated

"If there is any good to come out of this sorry mess, then it is the fact the Assembly has learned its lesson. This year's payment schedule seems to be on track, which is very welcome," he said.

"But not all the problems related to the delays have been resolved. There remain some farmers who have still not received 2001 payments."

Mr Salmon warned the Assembly would face a huge challenge from the anomalies and confusion in calculating the new Single Farm Payment.

"The delays in adjudicating appeals or agreeing allocations from the National Reserve could make the late payment saga of last year look like a picnic," he said. "Any notion of simplicity should carry a health warning."